Actor who portrayed Clark Kent and Huckleberry Finn coming to ICT Comic Con
Jeff East’s cinematic credits include two of the most iconic characters ever: Huckleberry Finn and Clark Kent.
“I count my blessings. I’m like, wow, I got lucky,” the 67-year-old actor said.
East played Huck in the 1973 musical version of “Tom Sawyer,” and the title role in its 1974 sequel, and portrayed a young Kent in 1978’s “Superman” – although his voice was dubbed over by its star.
“That was unbeknownst to me,” he recalled. “Christopher Reeve decided that he wanted to do it, if they’re gonna do it. They had done a test, and they said the voices are very different. Mine was deeper, and it sounds like a different actor, and they didn’t want to lose the continuity of young Clark Kent to Superman.
“I ended up going to the world premiere and I was shocked. I was like, oh my god. But I think he did a good job,” East shrugged. “You can barely tell. They had all the effects in there; you can’t really hear the difference.”
East will be among the guests at this weekend’s ninth annual ICT Comic-Con at Century II exhibition hall.
A native of the Kansas City area, East was in the right place at the right time to be cast as Huck in the “Tom Sawyer” musical, whose cast included “Family Affair” alum Johnnie Whitaker in the title role and future Oscar-winner Jodie Foster as Becky Thatcher.
His mother’s best friend was a dinner theater actress in KC, and immediately thought of him when told a search was on for a 13-14 year-old to play Huck. After auditioning three times in Columbia, Mo., and tested three times in Hollywood, he got the part.
“It was more work than I thought it was gonna be, with long hours,” he recalled. “Now, I was treated like a normal kid, not a California kid. Because I was from Kansas City, you could shoot me more than four hours a day. They could shoot me eight hours.”
Filming took place in Arrow Rock, Mo., northwest of Columbia.
“People think that it’s real easy, but it’s not,” East said. “You gotta concentrate a lot, but I had so much fun with everybody, we were having such a good time. And it’s such a great character to play. I mean, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with that part of it.”
A year later, “Huck Finn” was filmed in Natchez, Miss.
East’s next film was “The Hazing,” a college frat murder-mystery, and his performance was noticed by “Superman” director Richard Donner, who cast him, recalling seeing East as Huck, as the young Clark.
“So they call me in, they had me come in, and Donner says, ‘Hey, you want to play the role of young Superman?’” he remembers. “I said, ‘Oh, no, no, no. I’m not putting on a cape, I don’t want to be wearing any costumes like that, I’m not gonna do that.’ He goes, ‘No, you don’t have to worry about that, Jeff. You’re playing the human side; you’re playing the human Clark.”
The next day he flew to London for filming.
“That kind of changed my life. That was a big experience,” he said. “It was a gigantic leap. And I was treated a lot differently in the industry as well after that.”
Even before “Superman” was released, East was getting offers for movies, and took roles including Jack London in “Klondike Fever,” Joseph in the TV-movie “Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith,” and in the cult horror favorite “Pumpkinhead.”
“My parents tried to keep me as normal, so I could just be myself,” he said. “Don’t let it get to your head. I stayed pretty grounded most of the time, even though there was a lot of stuff going on, and I talked to a lot of people from the press, and yeah, it changed my life.”
East returned to the Kansas City area from 2004-2012, to work with his father in a real estate development company. Since then, he has moved to Nice, France, meeting a French woman at a cystic fibrosis charity event.
“I ended up moving to France, falling in love, and falling in love with the city,” he said.
Still in the movie business, including developing a Western TV series, East returns to the U.S. for comic-con events three or four times a year, he said, and couldn’t turn down one in Kansas.
East said he hasn’t seen the latest “Superman” movie adaptation, which was successful in theaters this summer, but planned to in the next few weeks.
ICT Comic Con director Richard Cathey said the newest “Superman” movie was the impetus for bringing in both East and Jack O’Halloran, who played villain Non in the 1978 version and its 1980 sequel.
“The whole world’s going Superman-crazy with that new movie out,” Cathey said. “I’m so excited to get the inside scoop from them on what went on during the filming.”
Other stars in Wichita this weekend include wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan, actress Olivia D’Abo (“Conan the Destroyer,” “The Wonder Years”) and actress Heather Thomas, best known for TV’s “The Fall Guy” and the teen movie comedy “Zapped!”
“This is a rare appearance for her, because she hasn’t done a show outside the L.A. area for close to 30 years,” Cathey said. “She asked to come here, and I think that’s just a testament to our city and our fans and all of the staff of our show.”
Other featured guests include Cathey’s “all-time personal favorite” artist, Mike Grell, who created the DC comic “Warlord,” and reinvented the Green Arrow character, turning it into the premise for the “Arrow” TV series.
New this year is “Up, Up and Away,” a cirque-style aerial acrobatics company whose performers dress as superheroes including Superman and Wonder Woman.
Cathey said local authors, directors and artists will also be featured, as well as many sales of new and vintage comics.
Attendance has ranged from 4,000 to 8,000 over the past few years, he added, with children 12 and younger admitted free.
“We are just really, really excited about the show,” he said.
ICT COMIC CON AND SCIENCE FICTION EXPO
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31
Where: Century II exhibition hall, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: In advance, $58.25 for weekend VIP tickets; $35.25 for weekend pass; $19.73 for adults 18 and older each day, free for children 12 and younger at selectaseat.com/comic. More information at ICTComicCon.com.